US STOCKS-Wall St edges lower as Fed minutes offer few clues on rates

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on
Wednesday as minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve
meeting gave investors few new clues as to when U.S. interest
rates may rise.

The S&P 500 snapped a two-day streak of record closing
highs.

Minutes of the U.S. central bank's Oct. 28-29 meeting, where
policymakers decided to finally end their bond-buying stimulus,
indicated a debate among policymakers over the outlook for
inflation and the economy.

"The market doesn't really know how to react to this,
whether it's a hawkish or dovish statement, but the reality is I
think it's a truthful statement that we are in a very
interesting spot with both headwinds and tailwinds facing this
economy," said Burt White, managing director and chief
investment officer at LPL Financial in Boston.

Following the release of the minutes, U.S. short-term
interest-rate futures traders were still betting on a first Fed
rate hike by September next year.

Tech names were among the biggest drags on the market, with
the Nasdaq underperforming both the Dow and S&P 500. Shares of
Microsoft fell 1.1 percent to $48.22 and shares of
Qualcomm eased 2.1 percent to $70.47. Qualcomm on
Wednesday gave a more conservative five-year outlook than in the
past.

Among the S&P 500's biggest positives, Target Corp
rose 7.4 percent to $72.50 and Lowe's rose 6.4 percent
to $62.26, both after results.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.09 points, or
0.01 percent, to 17,685.73, the S&P 500 lost 3.08 points,
or 0.15 percent, to 2,048.72 and the Nasdaq Composite
dropped 26.73 points, or 0.57 percent, to 4,675.71.

Earlier on Wednesday, Goldman Sachs analysts said the Fed,
once it begins to tighten monetary policy, would raise
short-term interest rates faster and to higher levels than
current market expectations.

Oplink Communications shares jumped 13.8 percent to
$24.18. It is being purchased by Koch Optics, a subsidiary of
privately-help Koch Industries, for about $445 million.

Among other big movers, shares of JetBlue Airways
rose 4.1 percent to $13.25 after it said it will charge certain
customers for their first checked bag.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by
1,899 to 1,176, for a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the
Nasdaq, 1,937 issues fell and 765 advanced for a 2.53-to-1 ratio
favoring decliners.

About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges,
compared with the 6.4 billion average for the month to date,
according to data from BATS Global Markets.

The benchmark S&P 500 index posted 30 new 52-week highs and
three new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and
74 new lows.
(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama, Nick Zieminski and Meredith Mazzilli)